CML Microsystems

A Maldon, Essex-based company that designs chips for radio, satellite navigation and communications, listed in London.

About CML Microsystems

CML Microsystems designs small chips for communication systems. Its site describes semiconductors for radio frequency (RF), microwave and mixed-signal applications, which means chips that handle radio waves and both analogue and digital signals. Examples include chips for private mobile radio, the walkie-talkie style systems used by emergency, transport and industrial teams, chips for satellite navigation (GNSS) and its SuRF range of microwave circuits. It targets niche markets in wireless communications, satellite technology and aerospace, and is described as fabless: it designs and tests its chips and uses outside factories to make them.

The company's tagline is "Powering Communication Advances". We did not find a longer mission statement, so we have not invented one. A directory entry describes CML Microsystems Plc as a holding company for operating subsidiaries based in the UK, the United States, Germany, Singapore and Taiwan, which design, make and sell semiconductor products mainly for the global communications market. Its UK operating company, CML Microcircuits (UK) Limited, is registered at Companies House with number 01625838, which shows it has been trading in the UK for a long time.

CML is based in Maldon, Essex. In 2022 it received conditional planning approval for all four planning applications covering a 29-acre site called Oval Park in Maldon. Its plans there include offices, warehousing and research and development space, and the company said it aimed to create more than 200 jobs on the site by 2024. Other local businesses, including Maldon Crystal Salt Co and Tecniq Ltd, were also expected to move to the site. We could not confirm from the pages we read whether the development has since been built, so treat those plans as plans.

We found very little about CML's culture or day-to-day working life. One investor article mentioned a long-serving finance director passing the role on, and recent growth by buying a US microwave chip company, Microwave Technology Inc., but that article is a personal opinion piece and we have not relied on it for views about the company. If you want to understand what it is like to work there, the best step is to look at the company's own website and at events where it appears, such as electronics trade shows.

A chip company this size still needs a wide range of people. There are analogue and RF design engineers, digital designers, test engineers who check that every chip meets its specification, applications engineers who help customers use the parts, and sales, finance and operations staff. Because it is in Essex rather than a big city, it can suit people who want engineering work outside London or Cambridge. Look at the company's website for current vacancies.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Radio-frequency and microwave circuits, including the SuRF range.', 'title': 'RF and microwave chips'}
• {'desc': 'Chips that handle both analogue and digital signals for radios and communication equipment.', 'title': 'Mixed-signal chips'}
• {'desc': 'Receiver chips for positioning and timing systems.', 'title': 'Satellite navigation (GNSS) chips'}

Key facts

• Based in Maldon, Essex; UK operating company CML Microcircuits (UK) Limited registered with number 01625838
• Conditional planning approval in 2022 for the 29-acre Oval Park site in Maldon, aiming at over 200 jobs by 2024 (plan, not confirmed built)
• Group has subsidiaries in the UK, United States, Germany, Singapore and Taiwan (directory entry)
• Fabless: designs and tests its own chips and uses outside factories for manufacture

Website: www.cmlmicro.com